Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Tri-Colored Carrot Ice Cream

My original inspiration for this dish was this post: 
It was extremely complicated, but the picture was so beautiful I wanted to try it. When I told my husband and several friends I wanted to make carrot ice cream,  the reactions were, well, less than favorable. 

Then, after my trip last week to the Minneapolis Farmers Market, I came up with the idea to use the little tri-colored carrots to make it, wouldn't that be beautiful ? And, not so much... 

When I grated the carrots and cooked them, according to the instructions in the original recipe, I just didn't like the texture. It didn't say how long to cook them, so perhaps that was my error, but I already had a significant amount of time invested, so I had to save it somehow. Thus, my version of the carrot ice cream. It has a really delicate flavor, and a strange, lilac color. I really like it ! 

Tri-Colored Carrot Ice Cream 
For the carrot base:
1 1/2 cups tri-colored carrots (yellow, orange and purple) grated 
1 tablespoon butter 
1 cup whole milk 
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
Pinch of saffron 
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk 
In a saucepan, saute carrots in butter until soft. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain out the carrot bits, and press through a sieve to remove all the liquid. 

Ice cream base: 
1 cup cream 
1 cup half and half 
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk 
1/4 cup sugar 
Mix all ingredients together, then add the carrot mixture. Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze for 6 or more hours until sold. Serve with pistachios on top. 


2 comments:

  1. Hi Lisa-- I'm glad you tried my recipe! The recipe that posted on the MS website actually missed one of the instructions regarding how long to cook the carrots-- you have to simmer till all the moisture has been absorbed, and the texture is a thick carrot pudding, and takes close to 20 minutes. When you combine the carrot mixture with the ice cream, the carrots add a very subtle textural component. The complete, and correct recipe I posted is here:

    http://www.food52.com/recipes/18717_carrot_halwa_ice_cream

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  2. Ah, well the purple carrots looked somewhat worm-like when cooked, so they were probably best strained out anyway! But the flavor was lovely. I might try it again with straight up orange carrots. I used my own ice cream base also, because at that point I had had enough of the cooking...it is definitely a labor of love!

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